She Stands Alone
by time2thrASH
Summary: Fifteen years ago, the greatest heroes in the world failed to prevent a catastrophe. The loss was so great, that barely anyone alive remembers what led to it in the first place. Now that this catastrophe is set to be unleashed on another part of the world, the lone survivor must be found at all costs.
1. Chapter 1

She Stands Alone

"Have you ever seen her?" Cyrus asked tentatively, staring intently at the beads of condensation dripping down the side of his glass.

"No-one's ever seen her, moron." Adam cut him down. "She's some kinda myth. Besides, damn near no-one got off the mainland alive."

"He's right. Kanto and most of Johto is one great big pile of steaming rubble. There's no-one gonna just walk away from that." Faye, their red-haired compatriot, mused.

"She's called lotsa things. The 'Lone Survivor', the 'Lost Princess'. It's all a bunch of propaganda and hearsay." Adam elaborated.

"But the barman-" Faye argued, turning to look at Adam quizzically.

"Is full of it." Adam replied.

"In that case why did we even bother coming here?" Cyrus asked.

"The Sevii islands are habitable, but background radiation is five times higher than normal." Adam informed him. "No-one goes there by choice. Cinnabar is the only real choice for the mainland refugees."

"But it's been fifteen years!" Cyrus cried incredulously, slamming his glass down in frustration. "That's more than enough time for her to have moved on."

"She wouldn't move on." Adam shook his head. "Hell… who could?"

"She'll have an affinity for Kanto, that's almost certain." Faye added quietly. "Wasn't she a water type specialist?"

"A gym leader." Adam nodded, draining the final contents of his own glass. "Bergruelian or Ferfulian or… whatever. The entire place has been dust for over a decade, who cares?"

"Cerulean!" Cyrus and Faye corrected him angrily.

"Whatever." Adam brushed their scolding aside. "Anyway, yeah, she was a water type specialist, probably still is."

"So you think she's definitely at the Seafoam Islands then?" Faye asked.

"Yeah." Adam replied conspiratorially. "I reckon when she's been sighted here, it's been to resupply. Always past midnight, always picking up from her contact."

"The… Blaine guy you mentioned?" Cyrus enquired.

"Yeah, he was a gym leader about the same time she was, retired before it all kicked off with the Rockets, so he wasn't caught up in it." Adam explained. "But finding him is hard enough, even on an island this small. And then when you find him, the guy talks in riddles while his Magmar sneaks up behind you. Then you wake up on fire." He added savagely, the incident being from his memory, not his imagination.

"So no leads there." Cyrus huffed. "Well, this has been a fun three days."

"Try three years kid." Adam snarled angrily, staring into the bottom of his empty glass. "Three years spent chasing a fairy tale, and the trail goes cold halfway across the world."

"What about the Pikachu?" Cyrus asked the despondent older man.

"Part of the mystique of it all I guess." Adam shrugged. "They say the Champion had one, though I don't know how she'd have ended up with it. They say it was with him when he died."

"Maybe she got another?" Cyrus guessed. "Memories of a happier time?"

"Would you want to remind yourself of your lost love day in and day out?" Faye sighed. "It's definitely his."

"Lost love?" Adam repeated, questioningly. "Do you… know something I don't?"

Cyrus and Faye shared a quick glance.

"You're the detective." Cyrus shrugged. "We're just the tag-alongs."

"I've always had a bit of a romantic streak." Faye blushed. "It runs in the family. I'm probably just making connections when there aren't any."

"Maybe it would help if we summarised." Cyrus added.

"Maybe it would help if we left." Adam replied bluntly, thumping his empty glass down on the table and rising to his feet. He immediately made to exit the tavern, blasting his way through the front door.

The tavern was right next to the beach, and the setting sun reflected off the sea as the man's two teenage companions scurried after him.

"Wait!" Faye called out to Adam as he stormed off. "What about us!?"

"The ferry leaves at three tomorrow." Adam called behind his back, not even bothering to turn around as he trudged off. "Feel free to bill the SSIB."

"What, you're just giving up!?" Cyrus yelled angrily. "Aren't you even going to go to Seafoam?"

"Have you not listened to a word I've said!?" Adam replied, spinning around to face the young man angrily. He closed the distance between himself and the boy, drawing himself up to his full height. "The woman's a myth! She probably died with the rest of them, and that means there's no way to stop what will happen, because no-one is left alive to tell us how!"

His rant over, the older man relaxed slightly, drawing back a bit from his companion.

"Now, I'm going to go back to the hotel and get some rest. Then, tomorrow, I'm going to follow up some genuine, non-mythical leads." He started to back away from them again. "You two can do whatever you please."

With that, he made off in the direction of the centre of town at a brisk pace, leaving the two alone.

"Well, no help there." Faye sighed. "What now?"

As she turned to Cyrus, he was dropping from the seafront onto the beach, and heading towards the surf.

"Cyrus!" She called out, jumping off the seafront herself and landing heavily in the sand. She got to her feet shakily, then ran after him.

"Tropius, I choose you!" Cyrus called out, throwing the Pokéball into the air. The majestic grass and flying type emerged from its capsule quietly, looking at its trainer expectantly. "You coming?" Cyrus asked, turning back to the girl.

"Are you insane?" Faye replied, looking out to sea. Only a sliver of the setting sun remained above the horizon.

"Yes, but you know that already." Cyrus smirked. "The Seafoam Islands aren't far, we'll be fine." Within moments, he was sat astride his Pokémon, offering his hand to her.

"Fine." Faye huffed, allowing him to haul her up. As soon as she settled in behind him, Tropius flapped its wings and took off. Within minutes, all they could see was the open water.

* * *

"It's getting really dark now!" Faye yelled over the roar of the wind.

"I know!" Cyrus yelled in reply. "It's not too…"

"Too what?" Faye yelled, confused.

"What the hell is that?" Cyrus murmured, so quiet Faye could barely hear him. Looking at his face, she followed his line of sight.

It was difficult to tell with the only the light of dusk, but something pale blue was glittering in the air in front of them, a few hundred metres away.

"Is that a bird?" Faye queried.

"No bird I've ever seen." Cyrus shook his head. He suddenly became panicked. "What is it doing?"

Almost as if in response, a pale blue beam struck Tropius' side painfully, dislodging both of its passengers and knocking it out in mid-air.

Faye screamed as she plummeted through the air. Within a few seconds the scream, along with all the air in her lungs, was knocked out of her as she hit the surface of the ocean.

Besides the powerful blow, the first sensation Faye felt was the shock of being submerged in the frigid water. She gasped reflexively, accidentally sucking in a lungful of the icy liquid. She almost felt her throat being paralysed by the shock before the reality of her situation took hold.

She looked around, dimly registering the shadow of Tropius floating above her, Cyrus nowhere in sight. Consciousness ebbed away, but Faye felt that she could see a pulsing red light in the pitch darkness of the water, getting closer and closer.

* * *

All Cyrus could feel was pain. Something heavy was on his chest, and was intent on hurting him. A lot.

His eyes snapped open as he screamed, digging his hands into the sand at either side of him.

"Okay, that's enough." A woman's voice announced, seemingly unconcerned by the teenage boy's scream.

His vision was blurry, and saltwater stung his eyes, but Cyrus clearly saw a yellow shape jump off his chest and scamper up the beach.

"_Beach?" _Cyrus thought, removing his hands from the sand, rubbing it between his fingers to check it was real._ "Did we wash up? Wait, who's 'we'? Faye!"_

Cyrus sat bolt upright, frantically looking around, clutching at the sudden pain in his chest.

"Yeah, you might not wanna do that." The woman's voice rebuked him. "You were just, you know, dead."

"Dead?" Cyrus wondered aloud.

"Luckily my little yellow friend here is quite the defibrillator." The voice joked. "The girl is a few yards to your left, and I returned your Pokémon to its Pokéball. They'll both be OK."

Cyrus scrambled on his hands and knees towards Faye. Sure enough, she was breathing just fine, though she was still unconscious.

Cyrus let out a dry sob of relief and he swiped at his eyes with his arm, removing the tears and salt water. His vision greatly improved, he turned to the voice before recoiling in shock.

"What?" Misty Waterflower asked incredulously, hands on hips.


	2. Chapter 2

She Stands Alone

"M-Misty?" Cyrus stammered, bewildered.

"Actually, Misty, with one 'M'." Misty corrected dryly. "You can stay here 'til your girlfriend wakes up, then you can get lost."

She turned and headed toward a small campfire, where a Pikachu was laying down, dozing.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Cyrus yelled.

"Where have I heard that before?" Misty murmured to herself.

"She's my sister!" Cyrus yelled in response.

Misty stopped in her tracks, turning to face the young man.

"OK, fine. You can stay here 'til your _sister_ wakes up, then you can get lost." Misty corrected herself.

"We're not just a couple of fan-boys!" Cyrus informed her, a little unsteady on his feet as he trudged towards her through the sand.

"Of course not." Misty replied. "You're a fan-boy and a fan-girl."

She turned away again, continuing towards the campfire. Cyrus stopped, watching her retreating from him.

"We're family." Cyrus said quietly.

Misty stopped dead. She turned her head slightly over her shoulder.

"What?" Misty replied.

"I'm Byron Waterflower's son." Cyrus confirmed. "Your cousin."

"Cyrus…" Misty whispered, almost as if struggling to remember. "And Faye?" She added, looking at the slumbering girl further up the beach.

She turned around and moved towards him quickly, scanning him up and down. Appraising him.

"Your Dad was Wordsworth Waterflower." Cyrus stated plainly. "You had three sisters; Daisy, Violet and Lily. Both your parents were Pokémon researchers, and you and your sisters were the Gym leaders, as well as performance artists called the Sensational Sisters of Cerulean City."

Misty's features darkened suddenly.

"That's some top quality research." She growled. "Impersonating members of my family."

"It's true." Cyrus replied, unafraid. "Little drops of water, little grains of sand, make the mighty ocean…"

"And the pleasant land." Misty finished quietly. "The Waterflower family motto."

"Believe me now?" Cyrus asked quietly.

"I only ever saw pictures of you two." Misty explained quietly. "I was travelling in a faraway region when you were born. You must have been… what, three, when the cataclysm happened?"

"Two." Cyrus corrected her. "My Dad went off to try and find you as soon as he heard rumours you were alive, but he couldn't find you."

"I didn't really want to be found." Misty replied softly.

"That's what he figured." Cyrus shrugged. "He reasoned that you knew where we were if you ever wanted to find us."

"Fortree city." Misty nodded slowly.

Suddenly, Faye stirred and let out a moan of pain, catching Cyrus and Misty's attention.

"Faye?" Cyrus asked with concern as he ran towards her, dropping to his knees next to her.

"Uh, Cyrus?" Faye groaned, allowing him to help her into a sitting position.

"Yeah, it's me." He confirmed.

"What happened?" Faye asked.

"Articuno happened." Misty announced.

"Oh my goodness, Misty?!" Faye recoiled suddenly.

"Yeah, we found her. Or rather she found us." Cyrus explained. "Wait, Artie-whatto?" He asked.

"Articuno, a legendary bird of Kanto." Misty explained. "I don't think you get them in Hoenn."

"No." Cyrus confirmed, amused at his sister's continued shell-shocked reaction to the presence of their long-lost cousin.

"Cyrus," Faye suddenly began quickly, "we're not here just to find her."

"You're right." Cyrus nodded, turning to his cousin. "Misty, we need your help."

"With what?" Misty asked, suspicious of their intentions.

"The Cataclysm." Faye announced. "It's going to happen again."

* * *

The trio had moved to the campfire, and were eating some of Misty's provisions as she started to recount the events that led to the destruction of Kanto and Johto.

"I don't really know how it all started." Misty began softly, scratching the space between Pikachu's ears lovingly. "One thing I do know is that the wrong group got the blame."

"Do you mean Team Rocket?" Faye asked.

"Yeah." Misty nodded. "Ash and I had been fighting Team Rocket since we were ten years old."

"Ash Ketchum? The Champion?" Cyrus asked.

Misty nodded slowly.

"They craved power, but in much more of a… criminal sense than the actual perpetrators." She explained. "They wanted money, power and respect. Not even domination, necessarily. Compared to Team Galactic, they were just a mafia."

"Team Galactic?" Faye asked.

"They were a bit before your time." Misty smirked. "Ash and our friend Brock had crossed paths with them before. A Sinnoh-based religious cult obsessed with Arceus and the creation story. They opened a portal between dimensions once before successfully, but nothing came of it, except the loss of their leader."

"Wow." Faye gasped. "They actually did it."

"They had some kind of artefact." Misty replied. "It was called 'The Red Chain'. It allowed the user to summon Dialga and Palkia, and, more importantly, control them once they arrived."

"So it gave the user control over time and space?" Cyrus stated incredulously.

"Apparently." Misty shrugged. "The only man who has ever used it in recent memory was seemingly wiped from existence."

"What was his name?" Faye asked.

"Team Galactic's leader?" Misty asked. She turned to her male cousin. "Cyrus. Creepy, huh?"

"I'm starting to wish I'd been called Dave." Cyrus joked.

"It's a coincidence." Misty replied, with a small smile. "Don't give it any thought."

"OK, so this _other_ Cyrus managed it just fine." Faye reasoned. "Why the cataclysm the next time?"

"Team Galactic attempted to gain control again using Dialga and Palkia, but without the red chain." Misty replied. "It didn't work. For starters, they only managed to summon Palkia, who immediately rampaged on arrival. Lance, Ash and Palkia fought, but Palkia gained the upper hand almost immediately. Then it started glowing…"

Misty went silent. Cyrus and Faye shared a glance, and then looked back towards their elder cousin, who was absent-mindedly poking the fire with a stick.

* * *

_Purple lightning was arcing all the way around the plateau, resulting in deafening thunderclaps every few seconds. Coupled with that, the roar of hyper beams and other high powered attacks echoed around the place._

_Misty screamed as Gyarados came crashing down out of the air in front of her, blasting her backwards off her feet and kicking up a plume of pebbles and snow._

"_Silly little girl!" The Galactic thug sneered, recalling his Pokémon and pulling a nightstick off his belt. He tested the weight of the weapon in his hand, and marched forwards ominously, drawing it up over his head. "How'd you get to be a gym leader?"_

_As he brought the weapon down, his wrist was caught by a large, powerful hand, stopping him in his tracks._

"_She's actually pretty damn good." Surge replied factually, thrusting his knee into the grunt's stomach. The grunt doubled over in pain, winded, allowing Surge to grab him by his uniform, rebalance, and hurl him over the side of the mountain._

_Misty closed her eyes tight in horror at the grunt's echoing scream as he plummeted towards his death, opening them as she felt a hand on her shoulder._

"_You're hurt bad kid." Surge informed her, scanning around quickly for danger before helping her up. He unclipped the Pokéball from her belt and recalled Gyarados for her._

"_Is he dead?" Misty asked with a whimper._

"_The goon?" Surge asked. "I dunno, probably. Not the first person I've pitched off this mountain today." He shrugged._

_Misty looked around at the chaos unfolding around her. Most of the gym leaders had joined up with the Elite Four to take on Team Galactic, who were swarming around Mt Silver like ants. The ever-present hail was brutal, hammering down on all of the combatants._

_It was difficult to tell how the battle was going. Looking to the left, Sabrina and Erika were making short work of their opponents, but to the right Brock and Falkner seemed to be suffering losses._

_Misty caught sight of Giovanni annihilating three opponents at once with his Rhyperior. The exiled gym leader and Team Rocket head was a powerful – if morally dubious – ally. Ash told her Jessie and James once told him that if the world was destroyed, there'd be no-one left to steal from. Apparently that mantra carried through to the top. Giovanni's resources and intelligence had been invaluable throughout this short war._

"_We have to get to Ash." Misty panted._

"_Where Palkia is?!" Surge yelled over the battle. "Are you crazy!?"_

"_Ash might need our help. I know water types and your electric types should be able to hold their own." Misty replied, watching her own blood drip down her arm and into the snow._

"_You're in no shape to help anyone!" Surge yelled, releasing his Magnezone in a single gesture and frying an approaching group of grunts with a Zap Cannon at point blank range. "Besides, Palkia's no Goldeen or Seaking!"_

"_Thanks for the insult." Misty hissed through the pain, struggling to put one foot in front of the other._

_Eventually they reached the end of the plinth. Palkia was firing attacks at Lance and Ash, who were riding their Dragonite and Charizard respectively._

"_Magnezone, Lock-On, then Zap Cannon!" Surge ordered, before falling flat on his face, bringing the already injured Misty down with him. "What the hell?" He grumbled._

_Misty groaned and looked back at the source of their fall. A blue haired woman was prone on the ground covered in a thin layer of fallen snow._

"_Clair…" Misty gasped._

_Surge crawled along, putting two fingers against the Dragon trainer's neck._

"_She's freezing." Surge lamented. "I can't feel a pulse."_

"_Oh my God." Misty whispered._

"_There's no time." Surge barked, looking back over his shoulder at Palkia. As Misty followed his gaze, she recoiled in horror as Lance's Dragonite took a bad hit, dislodging Lance and knocking the Pokémon unconscious, sending both plummeting to the ground below._

_Before Misty could say a word, Palkia fired an Aura Sphere at Magnezone, blasting it back in Surge's direction. The veteran soldier was knocked off his feet by his Pokémon, and hit the ground hard after flying fifteen feet horizontally. Both he and Magnezone lay unmoving._

_As Misty ran towards him she was suddenly yanked off her feet, and found herself flying at speed around the mountain. She looked up to see nothing but orange, and as she was dropped unceremoniously on a plinth, she realised she had been picked up by Charizard._

_The dragon landed next to her, looking unamused at having to leave the battle. Misty grimaced at the deep gash over his left eye, though Charizard himself didn't seem too bothered._

_Ash hopped down and rushed towards his girlfriend, immediately looking her up and down._

"_You're hurt." Ash frowned, before pulling her into a bone crunching hug. Misty reciprocated earnestly, almost afraid to let him go when he pulled back._

"_Surge and Clair," Misty rambled quickly, "we-we have to go back!"_

"_No time." Ash shook his head sadly, shoving something into her pocket. "I love you."_

_Misty paused for a moment, confused by the sudden change in his demeanour._

"_I love you too." She replied softly, allowing Ash to pull her to her feet. "But, our friends are dying!" She shouted, suddenly angry. "We're just going to run away!?"_

"_No." Ash smiled sadly. "Just you."_

_As Misty opened her mouth to respond, she was once again greeted by the sensation of being yanked off her feet. As Ash quickly appeared further and further away, she realized she was in Charizard's powerful grip, flying away from Mt Silver at tremendous speed._

"_NO!" She yelled. "Take me back!"_

_Charizard ignored her, and as Misty looked back, she saw the distant figure of Palkia glowing dark magenta, before letting loose an enormous shockwave of energy in all directions, which quickly began to grow closer and closer._

_Misty watched the energy wave approach fearfully as Charizard strained to outrun it. She could feel herself begin to slip into unconsciousness, suddenly more aware of the rivulets of blood running down her arms. As the shockwave was almost upon them, Misty's breath hitched in her throat, and she finally succumbed to the darkness._

* * *

__Author's Note: The "Waterflower Family Motto" is actually the first stanza of a poem attributed to the late American poet Julia A. F. Carney, and hence not my own work. As I'm uncomfortable chopping up anyone else's work to use for my own purposes, the full poem is posted below:

_Little drops of water,_  
_Little grains of sand,_  
_Make the mighty ocean_  
_And the pleasant land._

_So the little moments,_  
_Humble though they be,_  
_Make the mighty ages_  
_Of Eternity._

_So the little errors_  
_Lead the soul away_  
_From the paths of virtue_  
_Far in sin to stray._

_Little deeds of kindness,_  
_Little words of love,_  
_Help to make earth happy,_  
_Like the Heaven above._

Julia A. F. Carney (1823-1908)


	3. Chapter 3

She Stands Alone

Chapter 3

"She should love the water." Faye whispered to her brother quietly. "But, she's so…"

"Sad?" Cyrus whispered back quietly.

"Yeah, because I'm too stupid to come up with 'sad'." Faye hissed back. "I was looking for… melancholy."

Cyrus looked at her for a moment.

"So… sad?" He shrugged.

"Yeah, I suppose." Faye relented. "Sorry, I'm just a bit on edge."

The siblings were aboard a ferry with their cousin, bound for Slateport City. The former gym leader was leaning against the safety rail on the deck, watching the sunlight reflecting off the waves below. She had barely said a word to her cousins since she had told the tale of the cataclysm, except to agree to accompany them back to Hoenn to regroup and prepare for their journey.

Faye and Cyrus mimicked her, standing close together a little way up the deck. Cyrus nudged Faye's arm gently, and nodded towards Misty, beckoning her to approach with him.

"I've called Dad." Cyrus announced as he approached. "He can't wait to see you."

Misty continued to look at the waves.

"Great." She replied simply.

Silence fell amongst the three.

"Well, uh… I'm going to head back down to that buffet." Cyrus backed away, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Either of you coming?"

Misty remained silent, unresponsive.

"Uh, I'll stay here." Faye replied, turning to her brother.

Cyrus nodded quickly, and marched off to the double doors that led below deck. Once he was gone, Faye joined her cousin, leaning on the handrail.

"Have you been to Hoenn before?" Faye ventured a conversation-starter.

"Yeah." Misty replied, before elaborating. "I came when I was a little kid. I think that was the trip where my dad and yours had that big falling out. Then I came once and ended up in the Mirage Kingdom."

"Wow!" Faye smiled brightly. "I hear it's beautiful!"

"I guess." Misty shrugged.

Faye sighed. It was going to be a long journey.

* * *

**_Fifteen Years Ago: Western Johto_**

_The very ground itself was steaming. It made the visitor nervous._

_"Lucario?" Cynthia asked. "You are quite certain that Milotic's safeguard will protect us from the radiation?"_

_The Pokémon next to her nodded._

_"Even within the confines of her Pokéball, she can provide us with suitable shielding." Lucario confirmed telepathically, nodding at her to reassure her further._

_"I see." Cynthia replied, peering out of the confines of the green globe that shielded the two._

_Her eyes were greeted with nothing more than a flat expanse of land, that stretched for miles in every direction._

_"No mountains, no trees. Not even wreckage." Cynthia noted quietly._

_"It puzzles me that there is no crater." Lucario added._

_"And me." Cynthia nodded in agreement._

_"What of the survivor?" Lucario asked. "Perhaps she could shed light on this mystery."_

_"Do we truly believe she exists?" Cynthia sighed._

_Lucario suddenly tensed, and began shifting round reflexively._

_"Trouble?" Cynthia asked, peering round herself, hand dropping to a Pokéball on her belt._

_"I'm not sure." Lucario shook his head. "I require Spiritomb's assistance."_

_"Then you shall have it." Cynthia replied simply, releasing the Ghost type from its Pokéball._

_The Pokémon emerged in a flash of light, blinking as it took in its surroundings._

_"This place is strange." Spiritomb stated simply. Cynthia winced. While Lucario often conferred with her telepathically, it did so with a single voice. Spiritomb was an amalgamation of one-hundred and eight spirits, which all had a voice. It took a lot more getting used to._

_"How so?" Cynthia asked aloud._

_"I am a creature of darkness." The Ghost stated ominously. "Your memories tell me what happened here, but there is no darkness. I feel no different here than I do elsewhere."_

_"This place should be an enormous psychic… graveyard?" Cynthia asked._

_"Correct. It is quite disappointing in reality." Spiritomb replied._

_"What of the imprint?" Lucario asked the ghost._

_"Imprint?" Cynthia asked, confused._

_"The dog is correct." Spiritomb replied disdainfully. "There is an imprint nearby. A very powerful, very sudden mass teleportation. Bring out the boring one, and I will aid your travel there."_

_Cynthia sighed at the nickname Spiritomb bestowed upon her Gallade, but obeyed nonetheless. The most recent addition to her team emerged in a flash of light as the Ghost had moments before, standing tall and ready for battle._

_"You called for me, Mistress Cynthia?" Gallade asked, head bowed._

_"We require teleportation around 25 miles west, you toadying sycophant." Spiritomb grumbled. "Use teleport. I will do the rest."_

* * *

"Was he your boyfriend?" Faye asked her cousin quietly, breaking the silence between them.

"Ash?" Misty asked. "Yes, he was."

"And Pikachu was-" Faye began, but was cut off as the boat rocked suddenly. She was thrown forwards and began to tip over the rail, but was pulled back by her cousin in the nick of time.

"What's going on? What was that?" Faye gabbled as she righted herself.

The ferry rocked again, but this time it was accompanied by an explosion at the rear of the ship.

Faye eyed the column of pouring smoke nervously, but Misty barely faltered, and calmly walked past her cousin and through the double doors.

"Wait, where are you going?" Faye questioned as she ran to follow.

"Engine room." Misty replied simply. "If there's trouble, it's happening there."

Faye screamed as a yellow blur shot out towards them from a room and leapt through the air.

"It's Pikachu." Misty stated simply. "That was our room we just passed, he was sleeping on my bunk."

The redhead marched on, Pikachu looking back sympathetically at Faye as she followed in her wake.

"Sorry, I'm not much of an adventurer." Faye sighed.

"I gathered that." Misty replied callously, shoving a door forcefully. "Don't worry. Your brother isn't much of one either."

Faye bristled a bit at the insult. Cousin or no, Misty was really starting to push her buttons.

"We weren't all helping to save the world when we were ten." Faye grumbled under her breath.

Misty stopped dead and whirled around.

"Do you have something you want to say to me?" Misty asked coldly. Faye recoiled in fear.

"No." She whispered.

"Keep it that way." Misty snarled, turning around and continuing her march to the engine room.

* * *

_Cynthia emerged from the teleportation kneeling, with Lucario and Gallade kneeling on either side of her. Spiritomb floated above the three, surveying the area._

_"I feel the imprint much more strongly now." Lucario confirmed._

_"So you should, dog." Spiritomb drawled. "You're standing right in the middle of it."_

_"Thank you for the clarification." Lucario replied. "What did this?"_

_"The diameter of this teleportation field was around two miles." Spiritomb replied. "Only a legendary Pokémon could do this, but it feels like no legendary Pokémon known to me."_

_"Was this perhaps the work of Mew?" Gallade asked._

_"It feels that way." Lucario nodded. "However, Mew is not sufficiently powerful. This is not a likely explanation."_

_"Mistress, when Johto stood, what was this place?" Gallade enquired._

_"Let me check." Cynthia replied, loading the map program on her Pokétch. "We are stood at what was the summit of Mt. Quena."_

_"It is not mentioned in any myths or legends I have ever heard." Lucario replied honestly._

_"The transport was… messy." Spiritomb added. "Whatever attempted it was likely killed in the process."_

_"The ghost speaks the truth Mistress." Gallade added quietly. "I sense this creature's pain in the imprint."_

_"Any idea where this teleportation led to?" Cynthia asked._

_The Pokémon all looked at each other before turning back to their trainer._

_"West, likely Hoenn, but possibly further. Perhaps even Orre or within one of the Ranger Unions." Lucario hypothesised._

_"So in other words, you have no idea." Cynthia looked at the three witheringly._

* * *

Misty and Faye coughed upon entering the engine room. The vast area was thick with smoke, but it was being extracted quite quickly.

"You shouldn't be down here!" An engineer managed to scold the two between coughing fits.

"What happened here?!" Misty yelled at the man.

"We're not sure, but the entire system is hydroelectric!" The engineer yelled back.

"So what?" Faye yelled, watching as two men ran past with fire extinguishers.

"It means we don't have any fuel tanks or engines!" The engineer replied, checking over monitors frantically. "So no explosions if anything goes wrong."

"Sabotage." Misty hissed quietly, unclipping a Pokéball. "Charizard, I choose you!"

Faye gasped as an enormous orange dragon emerged from the Pokéball. It had a deep scar running over one eye, and didn't look particularly happy. Much like its trainer.

"Charizard, the extraction is over that way!" Misty yelled as she pointed. "Flap your wings to get rid of this smoke more quickly!"

The dragon nodded brusquely and did as it was told, clearing the room of smoke within seconds with the aid of its powerful wings. The draught even managed to snuff the small fires that remained.

"Ugh, thanks." The engineer said quietly.

Misty ignored him and made her way down a ladder, surveying the damage once she reached the bottom. She crossed over to the middle of the room and knelt down, examining something.

Misty seemed to have made her mind up about the situation once Faye reached her, accompanied by the engineer.

"They dropped anchor, then destroyed the retraction mechanism with an explosive." Misty stated plainly. "We're stuck here, give me your radio." She demanded.

"Uh, sure." The engineer replied, unclipping the device from his lapel and handing it to the demanding redhead.

"Engineering to bridge, come in." Misty hailed, pressing in a button. She released the button, only to hear static coming through. "I repeat, engineering to bridge, come in."

"Anything?" The engineer asked hopefully.

"No." Misty replied, throwing the device back to him. "That means whoever did this is likely there."

Misty turned to walk away, heading back to the ladder.

"Misty, wait!" Faye asked, running after her again. "How do you know all of this?"

"They dropped anchor – permanently – which means they don't want us to go anywhere." Misty whirled around, looking very cross with her younger cousin. "That means they don't want us dead, it means they want something or someone aboard the ship. It also means that they have an escape route planned, by sea or air, heading this way, probably with backup aboard. That means we have a race against time on our hands, and we don't know who our enemy is or what they're looking for. Do you know what else it means?"

Faye shook her head timidly.

"It means I really, _really_ don't have time to stand here and explain all this to my airhead younger cousin!" Misty yelled. "By Arceus, I've never seen anyone have so little initiative!"

Misty marched off back towards the ladder without a backwards glance, leaving a very disheartened Faye behind her.


End file.
